Page 65 of Alien Rescue

He helped her to the ladder. “I will go up first. I will help you out when I am sure it is safe.”

She nodded, feeling shaky. “I can get out by myself.” If it meant getting out of this oversized coffin, she could levitate out of here.

Silence, then, “You are a very stubborn breeder.” He jumped up and out.

“At least I’m not boring.”

A big, clawed hand reached out, and she grabbed it. He pulled her out as if she weighed nothing and carried her to the bank of the river. Rose took deep gulps full of breath. “I’m sorry. I thought you needed help. I didn’t think I’d fall apart like that. You must think I’m a real coward.”

He cupped the back of her head and held her closer. “You are the bravest human I know, my Rose.” Her body jerked and she felt fire in her shoulder before she heard the laser shot. The pain spread to her side. Zanr roared.

***

Zanr put Rose behind him, set the cloak to cover her, and tracked the angle of the shot, and returned fire, but he was focused on Rose. He heard the human cry out, and flashed his fangs. He’d track and kill the human later.

Holding Rose in his arms, he ran to the hoverbike and called Viglar on the emergency channel. By the time he reached the building where he’d left his shuttle, Viglar confirmed he was halfway there.

Zanr held Rose and ran into the shuttle. He barked out orders, and a slab extended out of the wall. He carefully laid Rose down and applied the bandage the way Viglar had instructed him. It would keep pressure on the wound and stop the bleeding long enough for Viglar to reach them. Human skin was fragile. Unlike the Zyrgins, they couldn’t seal wounds with flame. He didn’t care about his honor in that moment, about being a warrior. All that was important was that she lived.

She stared up at him with big eyes. “Did you get the code?”

He wanted to tell her yes, that she would be rid of the nanos soon. But she’d asked him never to lie to her again. What if she died and he didn’t give her hope? Or what if she lived and realized he’d lied? “I got some codes from them. It isn’t guaranteed that they are the correct ones. When Viglar has healed your wounds, we will see if they work.”

She nodded, but it was a weak movement. If she had internal damage, he would make sure it took the human a long time to die. Every minute he had left would be agony.

“Zyrgin traitor?” she whispered.

He stiffened, but they’d been in this together from the beginning. She should know. “It is not a Zyrgin. He is working with traitors on the home world, but he is from one of the conquered planets. He was there—installed the primitive cloak for the boat, but they haven’t seen him for more than a month.” He suspected the Zyrgin had finished setting up the resistance and had left for the next planet where he wanted to incite violence against Zyrgin rule.

“Not very supe...”

He heard Viglar’s shuttle land and stroked a trembling hand over her head. “Viglar is here, my breeder. You will be fine now. You will be all right.”

Viglar cleaned her wound and sealed it shut afterward. “The bullet missed all her major organs. She will recover.”

Zanr nearly sank to his knees. He’d been convinced he’d lost her. “I got codes out of the human to shut down the nanos.” He gave the sequence.

Virlar took his tablet and worked for a long time. When he looked up, Zanr knew. “It’s the wrong codes?”

“Yes, I guess the human made up random numbers. We will have him interrogated, but I doubt he knows anything useful. Our only chance is that they find it on the equipment in the ship bound for the home planet. They have gone through most of the inventory already.”

“If they don’t find it, do you think you can deactivate them?”

“There are billions of combinations that I would have to try. I have been working on a way to get the nanos out of her system without deactivating them.”

“Will it work?” He would do anything, give anything, if it meant Rose would live.

“I do not know. All the simulations were unsuccessful. But I will keep trying.”

Chapter Eighteen

Rose woke and groaned at the discomfort in her side. Not just her right side, but her right shoulder was stiff, as well.

“Stay still, my breeder, you have been wounded when you ran into the submarine against my orders.” The last was said pointedly.

“I promise you, next time, I’m staying put.” She opened her eyes and looked around her and frowned. They were back at the house she’d woken up in the first time. “The nanos?”

“The code the human gave us is wrong, and we couldn’t find any other codes for the nanos on that boat.”

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